Jersey City
The Place To Be

Today, state-of-the-art high rises in Newport and Exchange Place are now home to New York City Corporate expatriates, Fortune 500 corporations and multinational conglomerates. Since 1993, the FIRE Industry (Finance, Insurance and Real Estate) has grown by more than 500%. Amongst the State’s urban centers, Jersey City has accounted for more than 90% of the job growth. The best names of Wall Street — UBS | PaineWebber, American Express, Lord, Abbett & Company, Merrill Lynch, Knight Securities, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase — now have offices in Jersey City.

Proximity to the economic capital of the world [New York City], ample availability of office space, parcels and existing properties prime for office development have made Jersey City’s coastline one of the hottest real estate office markets nationwide.

Robert Yaro, executive director of the Manhattan based Regional Plan Association, stated that “New York City can’t position itself to create the next generation of development sites, while Jersey City and New Jersey have. Jersey City is now probably the best, most convenient corporate location outside of Manhattan.” In fact, Jersey City’s resources meet the economic exigencies of the information age. For instance, Emanuel Stern, president of Hartz Mountain Industries and waterfront developer, stated that companies covet wider spaces for trading floors: "Large corporations are more efficient on a 50,000-square-foot floor than five 10,000 square-foot floors. In Manhattan, 30,000 square feet [trading floors] is as big as it gets."

In addition, existing transportation infrastructures make office construction far easier in Jersey City. Ray O’ Keefe, president of Grubb & Ellis Company’s real estate firm in New York, said, “You’re not surrounded by narrow streets and tall buildings, so the whole process of building is easier. In Manhattan, you have to plan it logistically like an invasion." Office towers in Jersey City take an average of eighteen months to build compared to two years in New York City. And when finished, like existing office buildings in Newport and Exchange Place, offices boast modern, technology friendly space, a much needed amenity in the new economy.

State and local incentives have played a major role in redevelopment efforts. Mitchell Hersh, CEO of Mack-Cali, and Victor Kinon, chair of the Urban Land Institute, commended the financial savings companies received from tax incentives, particularly the Urban Enterprise Zone, New Jersey Long Term Tax Abatement, Business Employment Incentive Program and Business Relocation Assistance Grant.

Operations costs are also cheaper in Jersey City: PSE&G utility rates are 38% less than Con Edison. There is no city income tax, no corporate income tax, no city payroll tax, no unincorporated business tax, and no commercial rent tax in Jersey City. New Jersey corporate income tax and personal goods tax in designated enterprise zones are 9% and 3% respectively. Moreover, per-square-foot office space rental rates ranges from $25 to $35 in Newport and $35 to $40 in Exchange Place.

About 80% of NASDAQ’s sales volume are now traded in Wall Street West. Last November 2000, 21 out of 30 companies who made commitments to relocate in Hudson County will move to Jersey City. The waterfront Urban Enterprise Zone alone has generated more than 35,000 new jobs since 1992. Goldman Sachs’ 821-foot skyscraper will be the highest edifice in the Garden State and the most prominent along the Hudson River. In the next four years, Wall Street West’s class A office space is poised to reach fifteen million square feet, which is more than what exists now in downtown Atlanta.